Oil prices turned higher in Asian trade Thursday on upbeat trade data from China which bolstered the outlook for the world's second largest economy, analysts said.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September, rose 44 cents to $104.81 a barrel in afternoon Asian trade and Brent North Sea crude for September was up 27 cents at $107.71.
"It's a positive response to China's balance of trade numbers," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP.
China's monthly trade surplus fell 29.6 percent in July year-on-year to $17.8 billion, government data showed Thursday as imports and exports both rose.
Imports rose 10.9 percent to $168.2 billion while exports increased 5.1 percent to $186.0 billion year on year.
The numbers "generally suggest that there has been a reasonable amount of commodities importing during the month as well", Spooner said, adding that the numbers were "encouraging" for Chinese growth.
On Wednesday the US Energy Information Administration reported US oil stockpiles fell 1.3 million barrels in the week ended Friday. The decline was in line with a survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires.
Overall US stockpiles have dropped sharply in recent weeks, with the country still in the peak-demand summer driving season when Americans take to the roads for their holidays.
Oil prices had rallied last week on the back of strong manufacturing data from oil guzzlers the US and China, with Brent crude reaching a near four-month high above $110 a barrel before giving way in the wake of last Friday's US employment data.
